Hit and Run in Utah: What to Do and Who Pays

Short answer: If a driver hits you and leaves, call the police right away, get the case number, and notify your own insurance company. Utah treats an unidentified vehicle that caused a crash and left the scene as an uninsured motor vehicle, so your own uninsured motorist coverage can pay for your injuries even if the driver is never found.

What Utah Law Requires of a Driver After a Crash

Leaving the scene is a crime in Utah, and what the law requires depends on what the crash caused.

When someone is hurt or killed. A driver who has reason to believe they may have been involved in a crash that injured someone must immediately stop at the scene, or as close to it as possible without blocking traffic more than necessary, and stay until they have met their duties (Utah Code 41-6a-401.3). Those duties are to give their name, address, vehicle registration number and insurance information to the people involved; show their license on request; give reasonable help to anyone injured, including arranging a ride to medical care when it is clearly needed or requested; and immediately notify law enforcement (Utah Code 41-6a-401.7).

Leaving an injury crash is a class A misdemeanor. It becomes a third-degree felony when the crash causes serious bodily injury, and a second-degree felony when someone dies (Utah Code 41-6a-401.3(4)).

When only property is damaged. The driver must stay, exchange the same information, and notify police when the apparent damage is $2,500 or more. If the other vehicle or property is unattended, the driver must either find the owner or leave a written note in a visible place with their name, address and registration number (Utah Code 41-6a-401).

These are criminal rules. Whether the driver is ever caught or charged, your injury claim runs on a separate track.

What to Do After a Hit and Run

1. Get medical care. Call 911 if anyone is hurt. Injuries that seem minor at the scene can turn out to be serious.
2. Report it to the police. Ask for the case number and the name of the agency that took the report. You will need both.
3. Write down everything while it is fresh. Any part of the plate, the color, make and model, damage to the other car, which way it went, and the time. Take photos of the scene and your vehicle.
4. Find witnesses and cameras. Get names and phone numbers. Ask nearby businesses and homes about security or doorbell cameras quickly, because footage is often recorded over.
5. Notify your own insurer promptly. Most policies require prompt notice of a claim. Check your policy’s notice requirement rather than assuming you have time.

Who Pays When the Driver Is Never Found

Your own policy does. Utah’s definition of an “uninsured motor vehicle” includes “an unidentified motor vehicle that left the scene of an accident proximately caused by the motor vehicle operator” (Utah Code 31A-22-305(2)(b)). That means a hit-and-run injury claim is usually made against your own uninsured motorist coverage. Your personal injury protection also pays your first medical bills regardless of fault.

The catch is proof. If the unidentified vehicle caused the crash without ever touching you or your car, your uninsured motorist claim requires clear and convincing evidence that it existed, consisting of more than your own testimony (Utah Code 31A-22-305(6)). An independent witness, video or physical evidence can supply it, and the details you write down, the photos you take and the police report you file help that proof hold up. It comes up often in winter, when a car forces someone off the road and keeps going; we cover that in winter crashes in Utah.

If the driver is identified but carries too little insurance, your underinsured motorist coverage can add on top of theirs. We explain how that works in underinsured and uninsured motorist claims in Utah.

If the Driver Is Found Later

If police identify the driver, the claim can move to that driver’s liability insurer, and your own coverage may still fill a gap if their policy is not enough. The deadline for most Utah injury claims is four years, but some claims run on shorter clocks; our guide to the Utah statute of limitations for injury claims lists them.

Talk to a Utah Car Accident Attorney

Hit-and-run claims turn on evidence gathered in the first days and on the exact wording of your own policy. We can help you report the claim, preserve what matters, and deal with your insurer.

Hurt in Utah? Contact West Injury Law for a free case review. No attorney fees unless we win. Hablamos Español.